Research on nonlinear and quantum optics at the photonics and quantum information group of the University of Valladolid

We outline the main research lines in Nonlinear and Quantum Optics of the Group of Photonics and Quantum Information at the University of Valladolid. These works focus on Optical Solitons, Quantum Information using Photonic Technologies and the development of new materials for Nonlinar Optics. The investigations on optical solitons cover both temporal solitons in dispersion managed fiber links and nonparaxial spatial solitons as described by the Nonlinear Helmholtz Equation. Within the Quantum Information research lines of the group, the studies address new photonic schemes for quantum computation and the multiplexing of quantum data. The investigations of the group are, to a large extent, based on intensive and parallel computations. Some associated numerical techniques for the development of the activities described are briefly sketched

Modelling Long-Term Urban Temperatures with Less Training Data: A Comparative Study Using Neural Networks in the City of Madrid

In the last decades, urban climate researchers have highlighted the need for a reliable provision of meteorological data in the local urban context. Several efforts have been made in this direction using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), demonstrating that they are an accurate alternative to numerical approaches when modelling large time series. However, existing approaches are varied, and it is unclear how much data are needed to train them. This study explores whether the need for training data can be reduced without overly compromising model accuracy, and if model reliability can be increased by selecting the UHI intensity as the main model output instead of air temperature. These two approaches were compared using a common ANN configuration and under different data availability scenarios. Results show that reducing the training dataset from 12 to 9 or even 6 months would still produce reliable results, particularly if the UHI intensity is used. The latter proved to be more effective than the temperature approach under most training scenarios, with an average RMSE improvement of 16.4% when using only 3 months of data. These findings have important implications for urban climate research as they can potentially reduce the duration and cost of field measurement campaigns

Un SIG corporativo en el IGN para la gestión integrada, publicación y análisis de datos geográficos

El Instituto Geográfico Nacional inició en el año 2003 los estudios previos necesarios para un proyecto ambicioso y a la vez esencial para el cumplimiento de sus responsabilidades básicas, la implantación de un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) corporativo que atendiera a tres finalidades fundamentales: a) la gestión integrada de los datos geográficos y cartográficos que produce, en forma de Bases Cartográficas Numéricas (BCN) y en forma de mapas, respectivamente, incluyendo su actualización coordinada; b) la publicación de tales datos en papel, en soporte digital y de manera electrónica (Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales (IDE)); c) el análisis y consulta desde clientes ligeros y pesados para todo tipo de aplicaciones. Por lo tanto, el sistema constituye a la vez el soporte básico para la publicación de cartografía y para la consulta de los datos geográficos desde clientes a través de la Web,mediante el desarrollo de servicios de análisis

Bayesian variable selection and survival modeling: assessing the Most important comorbidities that impact lung and colorectal cancer survival in Spain

ancer survival represents one of the main indicators of interest in cancer epidemiology. However, the survival of cancer patients can be affected by several factors, such as comorbidities, that may interact with the cancer biology. Moreover, it is interesting to understand how different cancer sites and tumour stages are affected by different comorbidities. Identifying the comorbidities that affect cancer survival is thus of interest as it can be used to identify factors driving the survival of cancer patients. This information can also be used to identify vulnerable groups of patients with comorbidities that may lead to worst prognosis of cancer. We address these questions and propose a principled selection and evaluation of the effect of comorbidities on the overall survival of cancer patients. In the first step, we apply a Bayesian variable selection method that can be used to identify the comorbidities that predict overall survival. In the second step, we build a general Bayesian survival model that accounts for time-varying effects. In the third step, we derive several posterior predictive measures to quantify the effect of individual comorbidities on the population overall survival. We present applications to data on lung and colorectal cancers from two Spanish population-based cancer registries. The proposed methodology is implemented with a combination of the R-packages mombf and rstan. We provide the code for reproducibility at https://github.com/migariane/BayesVarImpComorbiCancer

Practical approach on frail older patients attended for acute heart failure

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a multi-organ dysfunction syndrome. In addition to known cardiac dysfunction, non-cardiac comorbidity, frailty and disability are independent risk factors of mortality, morbidity, cognitive and functional decline, and risk of institutionalization. Frailty, a treatable and potential reversible syndrome very common in older patients with AHF, increases the risk of disability and other adverse health outcomes. This position paper highlights the need to identify frailty in order to improve prognosis, the risk-benefits of invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the definition of older-person-centered and integrated care plans

Stir Casting Routes for Processing Metal Matrix Syntactic Foams: A Scoping Review

Metal matrix syntactic foams (MMSFs) are advanced lightweight materials constituted by a metallic matrix and a dispersion of hollow/porous fillers. Physical and mechanical properties can be fitted regarding matrix and filler properties and processing parameters. Their properties make them potential materials for sectors where density is a limiting parameter, such as transport, marine, defense, aerospace, and engineering applications. MMSFs are mainly manufactured by powder metallurgy, infiltration, and stir casting techniques. This study focuses on the current stir casting approaches and on the advances and deficiencies, providing processing parameters and comparative analyses on porosity and mechanical properties. PRISMA approaches were followed to favor traceability and reproducibility of the study. Stir casting techniques are low-cost, industrially scalable approaches, but they exhibit critical limitations: buoyancy of fillers, corrosion of processing equipment, premature solidification of molten metal during mixing, cracking of fillers, heterogeneous distribution, and limited incorporation of fillers. Six different approaches were identified; four focus on limiting buoyancy, cracking, heterogeneous distribution of fillers, and excessive oxidation of sensitive matrix alloys to oxygen. These improvements favor reaching the maximum porosity of 54%, increasing the fillers size from a few microns to 45 mm, reducing residual porosity by ±4%, synthesizing bimodal MMSFs, and reaching maximum incorporation of 74 vol%.</jats:p

Does native Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin mediate growth inhibition of a mammary tumor during infection?

Indexación: Web of Science.Background: For several decades now an antagonism between Trypanosoma cruzi infection and tumor development has been detected. The molecular basis of this phenomenon remained basically unknown until our proposal that T. cruzi Calreticulin (TcCRT), an endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperone, translocated-externalized by the parasite, may mediate at least an important part of this effect. Thus, recombinant TcCRT (rTcCRT) has important in vivo antiangiogenic and antitumor activities. However, the relevant question whether the in vivo antitumor effect of T. cruzi infection is indeed mediated by the native chaperone (nTcCRT), remains open. Herein, by using specific modified anti-rTcCRT antibodies (Abs), we have neutralized the antitumor activity of T. cruzi infection and extracts thereof, thus identifying nTcCRT as a valid mediator of this effect. Methods: Polyclonal anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments were used to reverse the capacity of rTcCRT to inhibit EAhy926 endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, as detected by BrdU uptake. Using these F(ab')(2) fragments, we also challenged the capacity of nTcCRT, during T. cruzi infection, to inhibit the growth of an aggressive mammary adenocarcinoma cell line (TA3-MTXR) in mice. Moreover, we determined the capacity of anti-rTcCRT Abs to reverse the antitumor effect of an epimastigote extract (EE). Finally, the effects of these treatments on tumor histology were evaluated. Results: The rTcCRT capacity to inhibit ECs proliferation was reversed by anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments, thus defining them as valid probes to interfere in vivo with this important TcCRT function. Consequently, during infection, these Ab fragments also reversed the in vivo experimental mammary tumor growth. Moreover, anti-rTcCRT Abs also neutralized the antitumor effect of an EE, again identifying the chaperone protein as an important mediator of this anti mammary tumor effect. Finally, as determined by conventional histological parameters, in infected animals and in those treated with EE, less invasive tumors were observed while, as expected, treatment with F(ab')(2) Ab fragments increased malignancy. Conclusion: We have identified translocated/externalized nTcCRT as responsible for at least an important part of the anti mammary tumor effect of the chaperone observed during experimental infections with T. cruzi.http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-016-2764-

Estudio de la botica de la Alhambra en el siglo XVI

Stock inventories are a very useful source of information in the study of the history of pharmaceutical science. Thisarticle reports on two accounts from the XVI century related to this subject, which on analysis provide interestingand relevant information on the functioning of a pharmacy in the citadel of the Alhambra Palace in Granada,during the early modern age.Los inventarios que recogen las existencias de las boticas son documentos de gran interés para la Historia de laFarmacia. Se informa en este artículo del hallazgo de dos relaciones de este tipo, fechadas en el siglo XVI, cuyoanálisis ofrece interesantes datos sobre la botica de la Alhambra de Granada en la Edad Moderna

An exceptionally well-preserved skeleton of Palaeothentes from the Early Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina: new insights into the anatomy of extinct paucituberculatan marsupials

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